This small booklet is an important conservation guide. It deals with the special care required in order to deal with these delicate fabrics during their excavation and recording. It is included as an appendix in Ancient Textiles: Production, Crafts and Society

In 2003, textile specialists from all over the world gathered in Lund, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark, for an international, interdisciplinary conference on ancient textiles. The aim of the conference was for experts in a variety of areas – conservation, excavation, archaeology, ethnology, philology, history, and textile crafts, to name some – to meet, exchange information and advance the fund of knowledge in textile research. Too often, even in a specialized field like ancient textiles and clothing, the specialists from the various disciplines rarely or never meet, thus hindering the possibility of a fruitful exchange and growth through interdisciplinary contact. Often...

Textile finds occur in many different environments under a variety of conditions. Some guidelines are proposed for the following: the excavation process, documentation and storage of excavated material, and collection and storage of samples for scientific analysis. In the absence of an on-site specialist, ‘preventive conservation’ (provision of optimal conditions to inhibit deterioration and prevent damage) is encouraged.

Archaeological textiles are rare finds in some countries and on some sites. Therefore some archaeologists may not recognise them immediately, perhaps are not aware of their importance, and as a result are not always prepared to handle them if they are found....

A fast and easy method for photo documentation of an archaeological textile, from fiber level to entire object, is described. The equipment used is a Nikon Coolpix 4500, a Macro cool light and an adaptor for the microscope. The images captured at different levels of magnification can be used for measurements like thread count, thread and fiber thickness, and degree and direction of spin. A software program, Scion Image that is shareware from the Internet, are described and demonstrated.

A detailed documentation of the physical appearance of a textile, such as actual size, technical analyses of garment and fabric, sewing...